The idea of linking the retirement age to life expectancy has been proposed by an economist in Germany, as people are living longer. The CDU is currently working on a new basic program that includes a similar regulation. A recent study by the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) showed that the life expectancy of people in Germany is surprisingly low compared to Western Europe. Despite this, life expectancy in Germany is still significantly higher than in 1889, the year the basis of today’s statutory pension insurance was created. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the retirement age of 65 is no longer financially sustainable. The retirement age without pension deductions has therefore been gradually raised to 67 years. However, according to economist Veronika Grimm, who belongs to the Council of Economic Experts, this step is not sufficient. Grimm therefore advocates linking the retirement age to increasing life expectancy and automatically raising it.
Grimm suggests that the formula in the future could be: “If life expectancy increases by one year, two-thirds of the additional year would be added to working life and one-third to retirement.” Although numerous studies, including a study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), show that a higher retirement age negatively affects mental and physical health, Grimm’s proposal only allows exceptions for health impairments. She also expressed concern about the increase in early retirement. To counteract the shortage of skilled workers in Germany, which is particularly high in the IT sector according to Bitkom e.V. data, it is important that older people continue to be active in the workforce. She emphasized that measures should be taken to motivate and enable people to work longer and delay retirement. The growing phenomenon of early retirement should be stopped. The CDU is currently working on a new basic program that also provides for linking life expectancy to the retirement age. However, the Ampel coalition and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) reject further raising the retirement age. “I firmly believe that we no longer need to raise the retirement age. If someone wants to work longer, they should be able to do so, but not because they have to, but because they can,” said Scholz.
